


Pink in the Night

by lightlysalted



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Existential Angst, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Old Friends, Yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightlysalted/pseuds/lightlysalted
Summary: 7 years after Makoto's death, Junpei spends some time with Akihiko.
Relationships: Iori Junpei/Sanada Akihiko
Kudos: 9





	Pink in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> this is for the cringers <3

The chill of the November sky fell over Junpei Iori’s college campus with a sigh. He adjusted his pale blue baseball cap as he strode away from the locker room’s concrete entrance. The baseball player looked down at his phone, checking the device for any messages. His emerald eyes tracked a message from an old friend.

“Akihiko-san? I have not seen him in a while. Heh.” He said out loud, opening up the message. It was true, Junpei hadn’t seen his old friend in a while. The digital text message read, ‘Hey Iori! I’m in town for the week, and I haven’t seen you in a while. Would you be down to hang out?’ Junpei contemplated this for a moment. Akihiko was a good friend of his, who was awesome as his old senpai. He had really admired his...body. Because Junpei definitely didn’t spend a lot of his days in high school staring at Akihiko’s chest. Or arms. Or legs. That never happened to Junpei. 

Iori shook off the thoughts of his old friend and began walking back to his dorm room. He traversed the corridors of the old building in Kyoto and took out the silver key to unlock his room. He placed his stuff into his bed and opened his phone once again. Junpei decided to respond to his message.

“Sure! I’d love to see you again! You want to meet at the Geisha district?” The baseball player texted to his old friend. He put the phone down and laid back into his bed with his arms outstretched. Why am I feeling like this? Junpei asked himself. He hadn’t seen Aki in a while, so he’d obviously feel a little sad and nervous about it, but this was something else. He’d only felt it really before around Chidori. 

It couldn’t be love, right? There was no way it was love. 

Junpei got up and pulled out one of his textbooks. He needed to get studying for his classes, not get ready for falling in love with someone from his past. He started to read the repeating text of the book, it lulling him into sleep. He was just about to close his eyes and let himself drown in the ocean of sleep but jarred awake by a buzzing and consecutive illumination on his phone. He picked it up and checked the text.

‘That sounds great! How does tonite sound?’ Akihiko texted back. Tonight? Junpei wasn’t ready. He didn’t look good enough. But that didn’t matter, he just his friend.

Right?

Junpei quickly threw on some deodorant, and brushed out his hair, and spritzed a little cologne. Why did I do that? Junpei said to himself, putting his wallet in his pocket, and getting ready to leave. He texted Akihiko to tell the man he was on his way to the district. A feeling was growing within him, it was seated in his chest. It wasn’t bad, Junpei thought it felt good. It made him feel excited for Akihiko. 

Junpei disembarked from his train, hopping off the subway. He was preparing himself to see his white-haired friend as he climbed up the steps to above the ground. He breathed in before heading up and inhaled the air of the city. It smelled like street food. That calmed him down a little and gave him the last push to see his old friend. 

Akihiko Sanada, the white-haired boxer of Junpei’s past. His arms were, well, huge. Junpei was trying his hardest not to be awkward approaching his well-built friend. 

“H-Hey, Akihiko-san!” He said, stuttering. He didn’t expect to one, see Akihiko looking this attractive, two, to have a crisis with his sexuality. Seriously, Junpei had never really considered how he felt toward Akihiko, even though he spent way too much time admiring his body. No wonder he always got jealous when Akihiko would get girls. He didn’t want to date the girls, he wanted to be in their position.

“Oh, hey!” Akihiko greeted his friend with a tight hug. Junpei almost exploded right then and there. He felt safe in his old friend’s arms. He didn’t want Akihiko to let go. “I haven’t seen you in a while, huh?” His voice was deep.

“Yeah, you haven’t. Wanna go sit down at a restaurant talk some more?” Junpei asked him.

“Of course!” Akihiko followed Junpei into a side street. Akihiko stayed close to his old friend, apprehensive of surroundings, their hands touching now and then. Junpei opened the doors to the place, and the two climbed some stairs and found their seats. Junpei sat with his friend, looking across at him. 

A couple of drinks later, they were talking like old friends again, acting as 7 years had never passed. They just laughed along with each other. 

“Okay, okay. Let me get this right. You’re a professional baseball player now, right?” Akihiko said. Junpei laughed. 

“I am! Isn’t that crazy, man? You’re a boxer now. I knew you would!” They both laughed together. Junpei’s feeling’s hadn’t left him. They still lingered within his heart. Every moment he spent with Akihiko made him want to be in his arms once more. His facade never faltered, though. He never stopped acting as if he never once had these feelings for him. The boxer and the baseball player were reminiscing about their past, and time got away from them. It became later and later in the night, the darkness outside they paid no mind to. Akihiko looked at his watch. 

“I should be getting home, man. Do you want to crash in my hotel room for the night? I’d love to talk with you more!” His smile was infectious, and Junpei blushed.

“I’d love to!” He said, following Akihiko out as the two of them walked through the lamplit streets of Kyoto. Junpei and Akihiko’s hands were almost holding each other as they walked into his hotel room.

Akihiko moved into the room first. “Welp, here it is!” The drinks were wearing off as Junpei walked into it, sitting on the end of his bed. Akihiko undid his tie and his belt. He seemed sort of tired. Junpei watched as his hands, ones that were made for the brutal dance that is boxing, delicately undo his belt and the top two buttons of his shirt. “I hope you don’t, haha. Long day.” He said. 

Junpei smiled at him. “Nah, don’t worry about it.” He said, lying back onto his friend’s bed. Akihiko followed suit, their faces near each other.

“It feels like no time has passed since we left for college, you know,” Akihiko said.

“Yeah. It really feels like nothing’s changed. Except for, well, you know.” Junpei took a breath in. 

7 years had passed since Makoto left, huh. Time had progressed the same, no one noticed his absence except the 6 of them. It kept flowing, without him. Junpei’s face was covered with his own tears now. He was crying in the hotel room of the man he apparently loved more than anyone else. 

Akihiko noticed this and turned to him. “Hey, Junpei, what’s up? There’s no need to cry. Hey, come here.” Akihiko pulled him into an embrace. His hug made Junpei sob harder, letting all of his pent up emotions, the trauma that he was never able to process, come pouring out of him. Pouring out everywhere. Pouring onto Akihiko’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, man. It’s really all my fault.” He said, crying into his bigger friend.

“Hey, don’t you dare say that. You’re amazing. Please, don’t blame yourself. It was never your fault.” Akihiko looked him in the face and wiped his tears off with his calloused fingers.

“A-Am I?” Junpei said, surprised at this touch. Akihiko pressed his lips onto Junpei, almost reading his mind at that moment. They were kissing. Akihiko held Junpei’s face as Junpei wrapped his arms around his newfound lover. It was dark inside, only lit by the remnant lights of the night, but the two men were okay with laying like this. 

Soon, clothes were flying off them, no words being spoken except hushed, “I love you”s. Kisses peppered the two men, and the covers of the bed were pulled up around them. Akihiko and Junpei stayed like that, cuddling in their warmth, avoiding the cold by leaving to space between each other, lying together, almost naked. It didn’t matter though. Nothing really did. They knew for a fact this wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Their relationship would never last forever, but they wanted to stay like this, if not just for the temporary night.


End file.
